Cricket: Beavers, Bulls continue top four push

Eaton president Mick Rogers has wound back the clock to post his highest score of the Bunbury and Districts Cricket Association First Grade season and spearhead his side to victory against Dalyellup Beach on Saturday.

Picture by Jon Gellweiler: Harvey-Benger’s John Crognale fields off his own bowling on Saturday in his side’s victory over Marist on Saturday.

Rogers and his men crept to within a point of entering the top four after their 79-run victory at Eaton Oval — the Beavers’ fourth consecutive triumph.

After failing with the bat last week, Rogers put his head down to bat through the Beavers innings with amixture of watchful defence and his trade mark power bringing him four sixes, only to be dismissed for 97 off the last ball of the 50-overs innings attempting a big shot that would have brought him a well deserved century.

While their president was out in the middle, runs came steadily for Eaton, but so did the wickets.

With Rogers at the other end, Eaton were reduced to 4-66 at one stage before ClintHewsonand Jake Rudd helped sure up the Beavers tally which eventually finished at 8-218.

Marquee signing Aaron Quartermaine failed with the bat but made up for that with the scalps of three top order Settlers for 17 runs in his first five overs.

And with Steve Barron (3-30), Hewson, James Hillery and Barry Wheeler they rocked the Settlers who slumped to be 8-90 until awag of the tail took them to 139—still 80 runs short of victory target.

At Forrest Park East, it was as easy as one, two, three for Darren Bozanich and Harvey-Bengers on Saturday where the Bulls kept their flickering hopes of a finals berth alive with a bonus points six-wicket victory over Marist.

Missing spearhead Ryan Redfern, Bozanich was thrust into the opening bowlers berth and in his first two overs had sucked the life out of the blues with the wickets of ace Paul Tomasi, skipperAdamSpinelli and Craig Zera for a personal cost of just six runs.

Stalwart Steve McGee and tailend teenager Marshall Roberts fought to swell the score but the Blues could muster no more than 122 which the Bulls passed fir the loss of four wickets with Bozanich 3-21 and Matt Gleneye, 4-25, the chief destroyers.

Man-of-the-match Bozanich then transferred on his bowling form to crease where he stroked six boundaries in a 33-run knock to help steer the Bulls home.